Portable sprayer



Sept. 21, 1965 R. BRICKMAN 3,207,381

PORTABLE SPRAYER Filed Oct. 16, 1963 FIG. 2.

INVENTOR Robert Brickmcm ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,207,387 PORTABLE SPRAYER Robert Brickman, 3212 Pauline Drive, Chevy Chase, Md. Filed Oct. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 316,752 1 Claim. (Cl. ZZZ-400.8)

This invention relates to a portable sprayer. More particularly it relates to an improvement over the spray gun described in my copending patent application Serial No. 133,938, filed August 25, 1961, which application issued as United States Patent 3,127,070 on March 31, 1964.

' ,The spray gun described in my earlier application comprised:

an elongated body having an integral grip portion and an integral cap portion adapted for quick detachable connection with an open topped portable reservoir;

an air pump housed in the elongated body and having its outlet discharging through the cap for filling the upper portion of said reservoir with compressed air;

means for operating said air pump including a lever member movably attached to the elongated body;

a nozzle mounted on the front end of the elongated body;

a conduit extending from the nozzle through the cap and downwardly therefrom into the reservoir;

and an adjustable valve in the conduit having control means positioned for operation by the hand holding and manipulating the spray gun and pump.

I have found that the mechanism described in my earlier application may be simplified whereby the cost of manufacture of the spraying device is reduced and the likelihood of mechanical or operational failure is diminished.

One object of the invention is to provide a spray gun having a grip operated pump wherein all of the mechanism for operating the spray gun can be simultaneously operated by the gun-holding hand of the user, thus freeing his other hand for correlated activities.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a one-hand spray gun with a threaded standard cap base whereby the same can be screwed onto a standard Mason jar, or like container, serving as a readily available and easily replaceable reservoir for the spraying liquids.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the character described having a hand-engageable pump lever and a spray control positioned for finger and/ or thumb operation by the hand embracing the grip portion of the pump lever mounting means.

Still another object is to provide a spray gun having a minimum number of moving parts which is easy to disassemble, clean and reassemble.

A more specific object is to provide a spray .gun in which a single body molded of a durable synthetic resin serves as the support and housing for all of the other portions of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide a spray gun which may be used selectively with a hose to permit a spray head to be brought into close proximity with the target to which the spray is to be applied or from which the hose may be readily removed when a wider broadcast of the spray is desired, for example when spraying a liquid fertilizer or insecticide in a garden.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a specific embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the sprayer;

FIGURE 2 is a view partly in section taken in plane 2-2 of FIGURE 1 passing through the central axis of the apparatus and through the center of the more prominent structural elements; and

FIGURE 3 is a view of the body portion looking in the direction of plane 33 of FIGURE 2.

In the drawings there is shown a vessel 10 which serves as a reservoir for the liquid to be sprayed. Vesel 10 may be a standard Mason jar of glass or it may be made of plastic or other suitable material. It is preferred that vessel 10 be transparent or translucent so that the contents of the vessel may be readily visible. Vessel 10 may also have a handle 12 for attachment of a sling or shoulder strap to assist the user in carrying the sprayer from place to place. Vessel 10 has an open mouth and on the outer periphery of the neck is provided with threads 14 or other means for coupling it to the molded plastic unit 20 which constitutes the principal element of the spray apparatus, and which supports or houses all of the remaining elements of the spray gun.

Plastic body 20 is removably attached to vessel 10 by means of a threaded metal ring 16 adapted to screw onto threads 14 on the vessel 10. A flange 18 on ring 16 engages a shoulder 22 on the plastic body, when the ring 16 is screwed onto the vessel 10 and holds the plastic body firmly seated on the vessel 10. A washer 30 is positioned on the lip of the mouth :of vessel 10, so as to provide a tight seal when ring 16 is screwed onto threads 14. Metal ring may be eliminated e.g. by providing threads on plastic body 20 so that it may screw onto or into vessel 10 directly.

Molded unit 20 is formed of a hard plastic and includes shoulder 22, noted above; a barrel portion 24 having a generally cylindrical shape and serving as the cylinder in which an air pump piston operates; a mast 26 extending upwardly from the central portion of the barrel portion and adapted to receive the piston rod to which the air pump piston is attached; a handle 28 formed integral with the extension mast 26 and provided with ridges 32 on its lower surface to facilitate gripping of the handle 28 when operating the spray.

In addition, molded plastic unit 20 includes a boss 40 extending toward the front of the spray apparatus. Boss 40 is provided with a vertical passage 44 extending into vessel 10 and connecting the vessel with an outlet port 50 in the upper portion of plastic .unit 20.

Adjacent the lower end of barrel portion 24 there is a flange 22 on the outer surface of the plastic body 20. Depending from this flange and molded integral therewith is an annulus 34 of somewhat larger diameter than the barrel, annulus 34 being dimensioned so as to fit more or less snugly into the open mouth at the top of jar 10. As noted above, annulus 34 could be threaded so as to couple directly onto vessel 10. The lower end of barrel 24 is closed except for a small central opening into which there is fitted a one-way valve 36 such as the rubber plug described in U.S. Patent 2,068,481. At the front of the base of the .unit 20 between barrel portion 24 and annulus 34 a stepped tube 38 extends downwardly into jar 10. Tube 38 is provided with a passage which extends from the top of tube 38 upwardly and which constitutes an extension of passage 44 in boss 40. The lowermost portion of tube 38 has a slightly reduced diameter at the tip and is gradually tapered as it extends upwardly so as to securely hold a plastic tube '80 which terminates in a strainer 82 spaced slightly above the bottom of jar 10.

Near the upper end of passage 44 there is a valve 46 which may be rotated by means of handle 48 so as to seal oil? passage 44 either partially or completely. Passage 44 terminates in an enlarged chamber 50 which is open at its front end at which it terminates in a screw threaded discharge port 52. Either -a hose 60 or a spray nozzle may be insetred into the port 52, depending on the manner in which the spray is to be applied.

Mast 26 is provided with a central bore 62 in which a plunger 64 may reciprocate freely. Plunger 64 has a palm engaging knob 66 at its upper end and carries a piston 68 and a leather Washer 69 at its lower end. A spring 70 is disposed in barrel 24 between piston 68 and the lower end of barrel 24 so that piston 68 is constantly urged upwardly.

A port 72 is provided in the upper end of barrel 24 for the admission of oil to lubricate the piston 68 and for the admission of air into the space above the piston, this being the air which valve 36 released into vessel 10 when the air pump is operated.

The lever for actuating valve 46 has a handle 74 and a main body portion 76 molded therewith and adapted to be received into a tapered recess 78 in boss 40 of unit 20. Body 76 supports a washer (not shown) and a spring is pinned between one side of boss 40 and the washer to facilitate easy operation of the handle 48.

It will be seen that the sprayer described may be manually operated using only one hand by curling the fingers under handle 28, while engagin knob 66 with a portion of the palm and manipulating knob 48 with the index finger or thumb, or both.

It is believed that the operation of the portable sprayer will be evident from the preceding description from which it will be seen that actuation of the air pump builds up air pressure in vessel 10, in the space above the liquid, and that on opening valve 46 :so as to place hose 60 in communication with the vessel 10, by way of passage 44 and tube 80, the liquid in the vessel is expelled through hose 60 and the nozzle carried at the outer end of hose 6t) and emerges as a spray.

Having now described a preferred embodiment of my invention it is not intended that it be limited except as may be required by the appended claim.

I claim:

A spray gun unit comprising: a molded plastic member including a cap engaging portion adapted for quick detachable connection with an open topped portable reservoir; a hollow mast integral with said molded plastic member and extending upwardly from said body, a handle integral with said mast located at the top thereof; an air pump housed in the upper portion of said body and having an outlet discharging through the base of said member for filling the upper portion of said reservoir with compressed air, said air pump consisting of a piston reciprocable in a chamber com-prising the major portion of the body of said molded plastic member and a piston rod attached to said piston and reciprocable in a bore in said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 890,155 6/08 Mastin 222-4001;

1,795,510 3/3 1 Schanze et a1. 2,154,941 4/31 Kamps'ohu-lte 2 22-401 2,256,113 9/41 Gray 222 400.s 3,062,416 11/62 Co'oprider 222--321 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner.

upwardly extending mast on said member, there being 

